Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hello All,
Bailey and I are new to the site. Bailey is an almost 8 year old Golden Retriever who will have her left front leg amputated on Tuesday (8-18-2009).
Bailey's journey began in May when I noticed a lump on her elbow. It was thought to be a hygroma. After the lump grew ulcerated and infected, it was removed. 5 weeks later, the lump came back and we did another lump removal after the second lump began sloughing as well. The vet (where I also work 🙂 ) sent in a histopathology, which revealed spindle cell sarcoma - a malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor. This past Tuesday, I took Bailey to an oncologist, where I learned that radiation was way too expensive for us and doing comfort treatment (meds) resulted in only a 30% one year survival rate. So, we have decided to amputate as that is the only way to save Bailey. Bailey is currently pain free and happy - running around.
It is very hard to watch her running around and appearing to be perfectly healthy when I know we are going to be removing her leg and that she is actually sick.
Since I have never been through this before, any help or advice or suggestions (anything) would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Denise and Bailey.
Welcome Denise, thank you for joining. We look forward to hearing all about Bailey's progress here and in her new blog!
Tip #1: Please try to remain strong for Bailey, she does not know she is sick, does not fear the upcoming surgery, and only wants to be free of pain. Try not to focus on her “sickness” but rather enjoy every moment with her in the now.
Search these forums and Jerry's blog with any specific concerns, or post your questions in this topic.
Be sure to check out our top ten amputaion concerns blog posts. If you need help getting started with Bailey's blog – where you can upload photos – watch our wordpress tutorial videos.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Denise & Bailey
We have a 9 year old (90lb) Lab/Golden Retriever who had his front leg removed in January this year. I wondered the same thing but I never for One minute regret having this done. He has been a very happy dog free of pain over the last 7 months. He goes up and down steps, comes in and out the dog door and still LOVES to go on walks. Although the walks are a lot shorter he can still get out there and wants too!
Good luck on Tuesday!
Buddys Parents - Missy
Good luck on Tuesday!!! Not only will amputation get rid of any pain, but it will also get rid of the primary cancer tumor and any neighboring cancer cells. Yay for that! Let us know how it goes and we will be sending good thoughts your way!
Hi Denise and Bailey - Gosh - where to start? I think the most important thing you can do for Bailey is to stay positive and upbeat with her/around her during this difficult time. ESPECIALLY when you pick her up after her surgery. When you see her for the first time as a tripawd - just look into her beautiful eyes and let her know how proud you are of her and how much you love her. Zeus (10 golden at the time of amputation) looked at me as if to say, "Do you still love me?" Wow - did that break my heart...YES I DO LOVE YOU!!!!
I only cried once in front of him that entire two weeks of recovery. I made the extra effort to be my usual silly self around him (since I lived alone at the time with he and his brother Buddy - I would sing to them all the time - stupid songs - but they were my songs to them, I would dance around...talk to them - tell them stupid jokes - just silly stuff and things that other people would put me in the looney bin for) and I think that really helped him keep his spirits up. So...my point is...BE YOURSELF around her. Be protective and watchful of her during recovery - but be yourself and be strong...she needs you to lead the way.
Cover any hardwood floors with rugs so she doesn't slip - I had rugs in every "pathway" of Zeus' so he would never slip. I put up baby gates at the stairs so he wasn't tempted to go up or down during the first 2 weeks of recovery.
It's wonderful that you work for a Vet - so you have a great resource for medical issues/advice/etc...My 2 best friends are Vets and I would be lost without them during this journey.
We will be thinking of you on Tuesday and sending good energy and lots of prayers your way. PLEASE keep us posted.
Oh yeah - last piece of advice....GET AS MUCH REST AS POSSIBLE....it's really important and it helps you deal with the emotions of this better. I had to learn that the hard way.
Licks and wags from a fellow golden ~
Zeus and Heather
Heather and Spirit Zeus - Our life changing journey…from the earth to the heavens…one day at a time…always together
Denise and Bailey,
Welcome to this great site that is populated by very caring people who are there for help, support, and sometimes just a sholder. I would like to echo all the advice above and tip my hat for you are obviously dedicated to each other and makes you both special. We would like to express our sympathy at this diagnosis but clearly you have chosen a sound path and are quickly going to move forward down this journey. For Cherry, the chemotherapy was far worse than the amputation. She lost all appetite and I had to stuff nearly every morsal of food for the duration. Be prepared that the next few weeks could get tough, but be assured they will be worth all the effort. I did remain strong and upbeat infront of Cherry during this time, but I also left the house so that I could totaly loose it on ocassion. Using a blog to keep track of the progress is an excellent idea. I posted a journal on the web which allowed me to make real assesments regarding Cherry's progress. It is not always easy to remember exactly how they were doing weeks ago, but the journal/blog can help.
I often suggest that we remember to treat the spirit as well as the body. Find something that Bailey loves, will be able to still do as a TriPawd, and then exploit that love to provide purpose for Bailey. For Cherry, it is her trips in the truck/car. It was the first place where she would actually eat food that was offered, and to this day one can see her excitement grow as the time for these trips approaches.
We will celebrate nine months of recovery on your day of surgery (so we will NOT forget to think of you.) The sparkle has returned in the eye, a bounce has returned (not the same bounce but just as good), and her ability to get into mischief has totall returned. Life is wonderful and we hope - know that you too will find such a return to a quality of life you two want for each other.
Our best thoughts as you go forward and we will be looking for progress reports.
Bob & Cherry
admin said:
Tip #1: Please try to remain strong for Bailey...
Thank you so much for your support and your tips for success! I greatly appreciate the advice and support!
Take Care!
Buddys Parents said:
Denise & Bailey
... I never for One minute regret having this done. He has been a very happy dog free of pain over the last 7 months
Thank you so much for sharing Buddy's experience with me. Hearing the success stories has been a tremendous support. I'm glad Buddy is doing so well!!
Take Care,
Denise
ldillon81 said:
Good luck on Tuesday!!! Not only will amputation get rid of any pain, but it will also get rid of the primary cancer tumor and any neighboring cancer cells. Yay for that! Let us know how it goes and we will be sending good thoughts your way!
Thank you so much for the support! It is greatly appreciated!
Take Care!
Zeus said:
I think the most important thing you can do for Bailey is to stay positive and upbeat with her/around her during this difficult time...
Heather,
Thank you so much for the advice…it will be really helpful. I think the rest one is what I am working on right now. I haven't slept much since this all started…it has been tremendously emotional – much more than I thought it would be. I am just trying to stay positive and have been spending special time with Bailey before her surgery. Thank you for mentioning about when I first see her – I think that is really good advice – to try to not get upset and look at her with acceptance. I know this will definitely be a trial for both of us!
Thank you!
Cherry said:
I often suggest that we remember to treat the spirit as well as the body...
Thank you Bob and Cherry for all the support and advice. It is really nice to hear what other people have gone through so that I can prepare myself both mentally and emotionally for the journey ahead. I like the idea of finding something that Bailey really likes – one of her favorite things is playing ball (of which she never returns it!) – that will have to wait for awhile. But, her second favorite thing is attention – she loves being petted and licking someone. We always say she has lickitis – because if she can't lick you – she'll lick the couch cushion next to you. Her other favorite thing (and one thing I am worried about) is shaking and high fiving. It is something I taught her as a puppy in the space of 5 minutes. She shakes and high fives and knows the difference between them…she also switches paws on command. One of my first thoughts on finding out about the amputation that was needed (well, maybe after wondering how she would get along – she has hip dysplasia..lovely huh? She has just about every golden problem!), was how she was going to shake and do the high five with only one paw…we'll have to figure some way…because that usually makes her happy!
Thank you again.
Oh my gosh! That's too funny that you mentioned the high-five trick! I, too, was worried that Jack wouldn't be able to do his trick, but sure enough...3 weeks after surgery, he was giving the five! I posted a video on here so here's the link (just scroll down to the video post):
http://tripawds.....38;ret=all
Keep in mind this was only 3 weeks after surgery. We are at almost 3 months now, and his technique is the same as it was before amputation. Bailey WILL be able to do give high-fives!
Denise,
You have already gotten some excellent advice here, but I just needed to chime in. Don't beat yourself up about the cost of the radiation. As you will see from the many dogs here who live productive lives, amputaiton is a very viable option. Trouble is one week shy of her 9 month ampuversary and she is doing very well, without the decision to amputate she would not be here at all. There is nothing she cannot do, there are things we inisist she allow us to help with - like getting out of the vehicle, but she isn't a 2 year old anymore she will be 10 in September.
Heather made an excellent point about making sure he knows you still love him when you pick him up after the surgery. Trouble looked at us the same way. Her eyes were asking if we still would love her. For some folks the shock of the amputation is very difficult, for me it was not. Point being, make sure you are prepared. This is a time when they need to feel that love and support from you.
The first two weeks of recovery are not a picnic, but we are all here to help you through.
My thoughts will be with you on Tuesday.
Shanna & Spirit Trouble ~ Trouble gained her wings 3/16/2011, a 27 1/2 month cancer survivor, tail wagging. RIP sweetheart, you are my heart and soul. Run free at Rainbow Bridge.
The November Five - Spirits Max, Cherry, Tika, Trouble & Nova. 11/2008 - 3/2013 An era ends as Queen Nova crossed the Bridge.
kane007 said:
I greatly appreciate the advice and support!
That's what we're here for, we appreciate your contributions to the Tripawds community!
Just a thought … when using the “Quote” button, please consider editing previous posts down to the specific comments you are replying to … like I have above. This will keep posts from being repeated again in their entirety. Simply use the “Post Reply” button at the bottom, or delete any extra quoted content. I hope this makes sense. Thanks!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
This is just too much to believe. Bailey's left fore leg amputation is scheduled nine months to the day after Cherry's left fore leg amputation. Also, Bailey is our surname. As ldillon81 mentioned above, the high five will come back with time and is a common "trick" amongst we dog lovers. Every morning as Cherry and I go out for toilet, she raises on her hind legs to give me a "hug". The morning would just not be complete without this hug. Also, the shaking also comes back. It may not be the overwhelming shake that you are used to, but it will be wonderful when you do see it return.
Our surgen provided us with a sling much like the sling used by humans with broken arms. I used this at the start to help get Cherry outside. I was able to put it around her chest, place both handles around my neck, and then I had both hands free to lift with my neck. The sling was intended to provide sum assistance when they first start to move. This is the most critical time because a "fall" could really cause complications to the healing process. For Cherry the chemotherapy was far worse than the amputation. And while they do not come with a complete set of instructions, you will do fine. I kept a journal of what I was seeing during the recovery process - daily at first then weekly later. This allowed me to make real assesment regarding Cherry's recovery process. Without this journal, I was just trying to remember if today was better than say last week.
Do not get bogged down by the life expectancy numbers. We chose to do an aggressive chemotherapy treatment regiment because we felt that it gave us the best chance to return Cherry to the quality of life that had defined her life. This was far a little girl that turned eleven on the day of her amputation. Jerry's pawrents chose to wait and had a very great quality of life for approximately two years. The amputation will remove the pain and allow Bailey to enjoy life. No one can actually state with any reliability how much time you have left with him so just enjoy every minute. Like I said, we will soon celebrate nine months and there really is not indiction that I should not expect many more to come. So I will and so should you for Bailey.
With paws crossed and all the pawsitive thought possible,
Bob & Cherry
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